Numbness and tingling in the hand that wakes you at night — and often improves without surgery.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is compression of the median nerve as it passes through the wrist. It produces a characteristic pattern of symptoms in the thumb, index, middle and half the ring finger — and that pattern is what distinguishes it from the many other reasons a hand goes numb.
Assessment first, because not all hand numbness is carpal tunnel — the neck is a common alternative source and needs excluding. Then night splinting, nerve gliding, load modification and strengthening through the forearm and shoulder. Mild and moderate cases frequently improve with this.
Night symptoms often improve within weeks. Long-standing numbness with muscle wasting is a different situation and needs a surgical opinion.
Not usually, for mild to moderate cases. Surgery is effective and is the right answer when there is constant numbness, muscle wasting at the base of the thumb, or when conservative treatment has genuinely failed.
Most people sleep with the wrist bent, which narrows the tunnel further, and fluid redistributes when lying down. A night splint holding the wrist neutral is often the single most effective early measure.
It can, and the two are confused often. The pattern of which fingers are involved, and testing at the neck, is how we separate them — and occasionally people have both.
Not sure this is what you have? That is exactly what an assessment is for — and if it turns out to be something else, we will tell you.
Related: Neck pain · Physiotherapy at Forge West End
No referral is needed for a private appointment. Bring one only if you are claiming through Medicare, DVA, WorkCover or insurance.
Unit 4, 249 Montague Road — a short run from South Brisbane, Highgate Hill, Dutton Park, Woolloongabba and South Bank, and from the CBD across the river.
Can’t get to the clinic? We also offer physiotherapy home visits across the same area, with travel included in the fee.
Book your assessment at Forge West End and start a plan built around your goals — not a generic exercise sheet.
Unit 4, 249 Montague Road, West End QLD 4101 · No referral needed for a private appointment · HICAPS on site
